Bulldogs Claim 10th at NCAA National Championship

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Amid a 144-strong field of the nation's top fencers, two members of the Yale women's fencing team pushed the Bulldogs to a 10th-place finish at the Mar. 21-24 NCAA National Championship.

Senior Madeline Oliver, in her final competition for the Bulldogs, and sophomore Lauren Miller, finished in 10th and 13th place in saber and foil competition, respectively. Those results earned the Yale team 23 points, enough for a 10th-place finish at the culminating event of the 2012-13 fencing season.

Co-hosted by The University of the Incarnate Word and San Antonio Sports at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, this year's NCAA National Championship brought together a blockbuster field that proved a challenge for the Bulldogs.

The NCAA National Championship was conducted in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts, with the top four finishers advancing to a semifinal round. Oliver won 12 bouts while Miller notched up 11 victories.

Miller and Oliver had qualified for the NCAA National Championship on the basis of their performance throughout the season and at the Mar. 10 NCAA Northeast Regional, hosted this year by St. John's in Queens, N.Y.

There, Oliver finished seventh in saber competition to qualify for the NCAA National Championship in seventh place while Miller finished in ninth place, a result that, when combined with her season results, put her through to the NCAA National Championship in seventh place.